Ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are configured to acquire biological information by emitting an ultrasound pulse generated by a vibration element provided in an ultrasound probe into the inside of a subject and causing the vibration element to receive an ultrasound reflected wave that is generated due to a difference in acoustic impedances among tissues of the subject. Further, with a simple operation of bringing an ultrasound probe into contact with the subject, ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are capable of displaying ultrasound image data in a real-time manner. Thus, ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are widely used for making morphological diagnoses and functional diagnoses of various internal organs.
For example, ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are often used in a puncture process for a biopsy test, a radio frequency ablation (RFA), or the like. To obtain a tissue for a biopsy test, a medical doctor inserts a puncture needle into the body of a subject and extracts the tissue, while viewing a targeted lesion in an ultrasound image in a real-time manner. In another example, to perform an RFA process, a medical doctor inserts an RFA needle up to a site of a lesion while viewing the targeted lesion in an ultrasound image in a real-time manner and subsequently causes the RFA needle to emit a radio frequency wave.
For example, to accurately recognize the puncture needle or the RFA needle during such a manipulation using an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus, an attachment is used for limiting the entering range of the puncture needle, and/or three-dimensional data acquired by employing a two-dimensional (2D) array probe or a mechanical four-dimensional (4D) probe is used for specifying the positions of the puncture needle and the targeted site. According to the conventional technique described above, however, the efficiency of the manipulation involved in a diagnosis and/or a medical treatment may be lowered in some situations.